D&D (2024) One D&D playtest, abilities that recharge when you roll initiative.

[pemerton]

What? It corresponds to someone starting a fight. In fiction.

To me, the things the corresponds to starting a fight is making an attack roll. Initiative is just a metagame move-sequencing device.

 

[aco175]

It's like a switch. I feel like a truck, like a machine, like I just rolled initiative.

 

[Blue]

If a short rest was 5 mins or otherwise something inconsequential in 5e, then yes I'd agree, but at an hour they are very different to 4e's short rest.

Sure, but I was talking about how it was bringing back in a 4e-like experience with a different terminology. At no point were 5e short rests ever involved in what I was saying.

 

[Charlaquin]

This is a much better idea though. Imho.

It feels more organic and tied to in fiction action. Plus it doesn’t limit things to an “encounter”, potentially, just the pacing of them.

Encounter powers were organic and tied to in-fiction action in 4e: specifically, the short rest.

 

[cbwjm]

Sure, but I was talking about how it was bringing back in a 4e-like experience with a different terminology. At no point were 5e short rests ever involved in what I was saying.

Fair enough, but I still feel like short rests in both 4e and 5e need to be considered if you're comparing the two editions and the expansion on rolling initiative gives you resources.

 

[darjr]

To me, the things the corresponds to starting a fight is making an attack roll. Initiative is just a metagame move-sequencing device.

Attack rolls happen after initiative. There isn’t any reason to roll initiative unless a fight has started. IMHO.

 

[darjr]

Encounter powers were organic and tied to in-fiction action in 4e: specifically, the short rest.

And the encounter.

The encounter power as a mechanic is tied to the encounter as a mechanic.

Edit: to be more clear, maybe.

 

[pemerton]

Attack rolls happen after initiative. There isn’t any reason to roll initiative unless a fight has started. IMHO.

Agreed there's no reason to roll initiative unless a fight has started. It's a mechanical step that is triggered by something happening in the fiction. But it doesn't represent or correspond to anything in the fiction. It's a metagame mechanic.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I don't get this. Rolling initiative isn't organic at all - it's a contrivance for managing turn-by-turn combat, and it's extremely unclear what, if anything, it corresponds to in the fiction.

There's also the issue that abilities that can't be refreshed until initiative is rolled become de facto combat-oriented abilities, further marginalising the non-combat aspects of the game.

At least some of the epic boons refresh when you roll initiative, or finish a short or long rest.

 

[pemerton]

And the encounter. You can’t have an “encounter power” without an encounter.

This isn't an accurate statement of the 4e rules, which are - as @Charlaquin posted - that those abilities recharge on a short rest.

The DMG2 (p 55) sets out some options for quicker and/or partial recharging. And I use a rule that an encounter power can only be used once in a skill challenge even if the skill challenge straddles a rest - but I don't remember the rulebooks ever flagging that one.